Formula Intake not adequate for 7 mo

[taylorbean]

Hey there.
My 7 mo little girl son't take much more 4 to 6 ounces per feed, she has about four to five bottles a day and has solids three times a day, rice cereal and a fruit or veggie. She eats solids well. I give her formula before solids. But try as a I might to encourage her to take more milk, she won't. I feed her most of the time in a quiet room without too much noise or distraction and it doesn't really help. Any suggestions ?

[sazza]

i can sympathise - we have the same problem from time to time (at the moment it's both his morning feeds, and he won't take solids even though he's ready for them - also v frustrating!!)

has your lo always eaten small like this? is she still gaining wieght ok? and is she still peeing and pooing as normal?

[*Natasha*]

Could you try dropping down to 4 bottles to see if she will take more then?
I am assuming she is on at least 2 solid meals so milk intake should be between 26-32ozs a day. Don't forget this includes an milk you use in her cereal and other meals.

[taylorbean]

I can only get 20 to 22 ounces in per 24 hour period. She has three meals a day, rice cereal and fruit in the morning, veggies in the afternoon, and veggies for supper, I only mix what's leftover in the morning bottle into her rice cereal in the morning only. that's maybe 2 ounces. I always offer the bottle first before solids.

Should I lengthen the time between feedings to get her down to four bottles, how do I go about scheduling that and how many ounces of formula should I prepare in each bottle ?

[*Natasha*]

What is your current routine including bottles, solids and naps?

[Seona1973]

Once again, minimum requiremements seem to differ between countries!!  In the UK the minimum recommended from 6 months is 20 ounces inclusive of milk in cereal, dairy products such as cheese, yoghurt, etc so by our standards your lo's intake is just right!  As long as your lo has other subtitutes for milk it doesnt matter if they dont take as much as a drink.  I would also try just having 4 bottles and that may make your lo take more from each bottle.

At this age my dd had a morning bottle around 7am, a mid-morning one around 11/11.30, a mid afternoon one around 2.30pm and a bedtime bottle around 7pm.  I didnt give milk with solids at this point - solids were given as meals in between these times.

Seona

[LŠuren]

Julie, how much solids is Taylor eating?

Here in the UK, it is a minimum of 20oz (pint) once they are established on solids. Is she less interested with any bottles in particualr, it may be she needs to drop one again 

Can you post your routine and include amounts of milk and solids for each feed?

Lauren x

Forgot to add;

Why do you think she isn't getting enough? Is she waking a night out of hunger? Is she puttng on weight & not dehydrated? And have lots of wet nappies?

[taylorbean]

Hey Lauren,

5 a.m. - bottle - 4 - 6 ounces
5 - 7 a.m. - activity
7 am. - nap
9 am - bottle/breakfast - four ounces and 4 - 5 ounces tbsp. rice cereal and sm. amt of banana
9-12 - activity
12 - nap
2am - lunch/bottle - 4 - 5 ounces and 4 tbsp. veggies ie. broccoli/carrots, few cherrios.
2 - 5 p.m. - activity
5p.m. - catnap - 45 minutes
6 p.m. - bottle/ supper - 4 - 5 ounces - 4tbsp. veggies.
7 pm - bathtime
7:30 - bedtime
occasionally up around 10 p.m. for another bottle - 2 ounces

In Canada, they say 24 - 32 ounces - but that makes me feel better that in the UK they're saying 20 oz is adequate. I would say she is less interested in her 9 am bottle and is ravenous for her 5 am bottle more than anything.

She's never been a big eater, I'm really not sure why she isn't getting enough, I don't think it's the solids because she had the same intake even before we started the solids, she just doesn't drain those bottles, I used to make 8 oz. per bottle but there would always always be 3 - 4 oz. leftover and wasted so I started making 6 oz and she only drains that maybe for her 5 am feed.  She doesn't wake up at night at all usually, just at 5 am when she's ready to be up and eat.  She is gaining weight and growing beautifully, she's not a skinny baby but I wouldn't call her chubby either.  Her urine output is adequate.  Maybe she just eats like a bird and that's just her way, I'm not sure.   

She hasn't started eating any dairy products like cheese or yoghurt b/c she is allergic to milk proteins and is on soy formula, she usually just gets cereal, veggies and fruit only.

[LŠuren]

Hi Julie

You're keen getting up at 5am 

A couple of things;
1. I think it may be time to drop the 10pm feed,  I am not sure if it is a dreamfeed or if Taylor just wakes for this?

2. It sounds like she may be wanting to drop a bottle, so your routine would look more like;
5 a.m. - bottle - 4 - 6 ounces
5 - 7 a.m. - activity
7 am. - nap
9 am - breakfast - tbsp. rice cereal and sm. amt of banana
9-12 - activity  2nd bottle between 5am & 6pm, possibly before her nap
12 - nap
2pm - lunch 4 tbsp. veggies ie. broccoli/carrots, few cherrios.
2 - 5 p.m. - activity
5p.m. - catnap - 45 minutes
6 p.m. - bottle/ supper - 4 - 5 ounces - 4tbsp. veggies.
7 pm - bathtime
7:30 - bedtime

Kelly also did this recently and she found that Zander actually took more milk, becasue he was hungrier when she fed him.

HTH's

[*Natasha*]

Yes i found that as well when i dropped from 4-3bottles DD was taking most of her bottle every time.
I do a bottle at 8.30am,1.30pm and 6.45pm and solids at 7.30am,12.30pm and 6pm.

[taylorbean]

Hello everyone that replied. Thanks so much for the great advice b/c dropping the bottle worked very well. She didn't have her 9 am bottle and we dropped to four bottles a day instead of five and she is draining her six oz bottles so I'm going to try making 8 oz ones again and see if she can drain those as well.

Thanks so much for everyone that replied. Oh yes, and she slept until 6 am which is quite a stretch from 5 am so we're on the right track,

[LŠuren]

Well done, good luck for tomorrow - keep up posted, it will be my turn to drop a bottle soon.
x